1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved golf putter, and, more particularly to such a putter with a face including a plurality of spring wires which tend to impart topspin to a golf ball as it is struck.
2. Description of the Related Art
Accurate putting is essential to achieve a low golf score. In an eighteen hole round the number of regulation putts is two per hole or thirty-six, which equals one-half of a typical par score of seventy-two. If a golfer can lower his average number of putts to 1.5 per hole, he or she can pick up nine strokes on par during this phase of the game.
Since golf was invented, numerous attempts have been made to create an improved putter. Originally putters were simply a flat blade head attached to a shaft with the head having a smooth putting face. In an effort to improve putting accuracy, putters have been changed in many ways. For example, putter faces have been widened to expand the "sweet spot" of the putter, the sweet spot has been marked in various ways, such as with a different color or with directional arrows, and heads have been made hollow or partially hollow to make them more resilient and/or to create a specific sound when the ball is struck. Putter shafts have been lengthened, shortened, stiffened or made more resilient.
There seems to be a consistent opinion of many golf instructors and pros that it is important to get a golf ball "rolling" as early in the putting stroke as is possible. This is as opposed to scooting the ball over the putting surface. Accordingly, such teachers of putting techniques have emphasized that a golfer should use a smooth stroke with follow through after the putter contacts the ball to maximize putter contact with the ball. The theory is that this technique both aids in aligning the club and the desired ball path, but also that the ball will start rolling sooner with such a stroke. When a golf ball is rolling rather than scooting over the putting surface, the ball will have less of a tendency to follow the "grain" of the grass on the putting green and, instead, the inertia of a rolling ball will cause it to have more of a tendency to continue in the true direction of the putting stroke. Furthermore, a rolling golf ball will be deflected less by small imperfections such as ball and cleat marks in the putting surface than a ball which is scooting.
Some inventors have altered putters in an attempt to use the putter face as an aid in imparting forward roll or topspin to a golf ball. One example is reflected in the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 2,445,718 to Sternberg et al., which teaches a putter with a face roughened by horizontal scores to provide "over spin" on the ball. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,301 to Ma which teaches a putter with a face slanted away from the ball as it is addressed. The face also has a number of lateral grooves which are said to "increase the force of rotation of the ball" as the stroke proceeds.
While both the Sternberg et al. and the Ma patents are concerned with imparting an over spin or topspin to the golf ball as it is struck, they are of limited effectiveness. In each case, the putter face is solid, i.e. does not yield perceptibly upon impact of the club face with the ball. With such a construction, the golf ball immediately rebounds off of the putter face as it is struck. Thus, any topspin imparted by the club face will be minimal since the time during which the club face actually contacts the ball is very short. In fact, Ma describes a goal of his invention as "minimizing the contact time of the ball with the hitting portion of the putter head".
Furthermore, any topspin imparted by the Sternberg or Ma putters is in a direction perpendicular to the club face. Since many amateur golfers have a tendency to either pull a putter to the inside of the true path or push it to the outside of the true path, or, alternatively, to close or open the putter club face during the putting stroke, it would be advantageous if a putter could be designed to help offset these tendencies.
Accordingly, it is clear that a need exists for an improved golf putter which imparts a pronounced topspin to a golf ball as it is struck. Furthermore, such a putter should preferably be capable of counteracting a tendency of a golfer to either push or pull his putting stroke, or, alternatively, to counteract the effects of a closed or open putter face.